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The shipping company Wilhelmsen and its partners have received NOK 80 million in support from the EU to carry out the pioneering project at sea.
According to Hege Økland, the ship can move more than 25,000 wagons from road to sea.
Jon Ingemundsen
Published:,
In 2024, the world’s first hydrogen-powered cargo ship will be launched. It came about when shipping company Wilhelmsen and partners like Equinor and Norsea Group presented the plans at Dusavik in Stavanger on Thursday.
The ship will be called “Topeka” and will transport goods between oil bases along the Norwegian coast. It will also carry liquid hydrogen, in addition to using hydrogen as fuel.
– This day is a milestone. This may seriously mark the beginning of the hydrogen adventure, said Hege Økland, who is head of the maritime network NCE Maritime Cleantech, when the plans were presented.
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Millions of support
She believes the project is important in three ways:
- Develop hydrogen technology.
- The cargo is moved from the highway to the sea.
- Emissions are reduced.
According to Økland, the ship can help move just over 25,000 trucks of goods off the road and reduce emissions by 20,000 tons of CO₂.
The project has now received NOK 80 million in support from the EU through the Horizon 2020 program. In total, the ship is estimated to cost around NOK 300 million.
The rest of the funding has yet to be finally clarified, but Wilhelmsen has previously announced that they will also request support from Enova.
Jan Eyvin Wang, right, presented the hydrogen plans on behalf of Wilhelmsen on Thursday. The Minister of Oil and Energy, Tina Bru (H), was also present to clarify the presentation.
Jon Ingemundsen
Before promised
According to Jan Eyvin Wang, director of industrial investments at Wilhelmsen, the company designed and manufactured a zero-emission ship in 2005. It was then said that it should be ready in 2025.
Now the ship arrives a year earlier than promised.
– I think this is the beginning of something that will be much bigger than “Topeka” itself, thinks Wang.
He points out that the goal is for the technology to be used around the world.
– This ship will sail relatively short distances. But if we see that the technology works, it can also be used on vessels that sail far away. So I think we can put those ships into service starting in 2030, says Wang.
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– pioneer
The Minister of Oil and Energy, Tina Bru (H), believes that the project creates faith in the future and optimism.
– This is groundbreaking. We have to crack the hydrogen code, and this is a good example of that, says Bru.
– I think Norway’s potential is huge. We can build and develop containers with hydrogen as fuel. We have a very good technological environment in the maritime industry, shown here, he says.
Moving freight traffic from road to sea has long been a stated objective of the Norwegian authorities. However, it has been more difficult to implement in practice.
– All the solutions that can contribute to that are good. And it is much better when maritime traffic is emission free. Therefore, this project is a very important step in the right direction, says Bru.
This is what the ship “Topeka” should look like.
Illustration
– More effective
Norsea Group, of which Wilhelmsen is the largest owner, is based in Dusavik and operates several bases along the coast.
– This project is the continuation of a journey we’ve had from LNG, through offshore energy and now to hydrogen, says COO Lars Haug.
He points out that not only the environmental aspect is positive in the transport of goods by sea instead of by road.
– It means better security and it is also more efficient, says Haug.
The hydrogen factory will be built here at the Equinor plant in Mongstad. The photo was taken when the plan was released earlier this year. From left Sturle Bergaas, Bjørn Sundland and Steinar Madsen.
Bjørn Erik Larsen
Billion dollar factory
The hydrogen that will power the ships will be produced at a new hydrogen factory at Equinor’s Mongstad plant, in collaboration with power company BKK and Air Liquide.
Plans for the factory were launched earlier this year and involve an investment of one billion crowns. Like the ship, the installation will be completed in 2024.
– We are part of this because we believe that hydrogen will be an important energy carrier in the future, says Grete Tveit, director of low carbon solutions at Equinor.
She notes that Equinor has 175 ships in daily traffic, among other things to transport goods between bases along the coast and platforms at sea.
– We have great ambitions to reduce the company’s emissions. If we get boats with lower or no emissions, it will be of great help. We must be part of the green shift to be relevant in the future, says Tveit.
